The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, Madonna Connect For “Popular” Single

On June 4 co-creator Sam Levinson’s (of HBO’s “Euphoria”) presents his next social experiment on the network, The Idol. The show — which attracted a fair share of pre- and post-production controversy thanks to reports and allegations of various on-set, cast and crew, and creative dysfunction — is set to star Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Lily Rose-Depp, Rachel Sennott, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dan Levy and Hank Azaria.

The Weeknd will also contribute heavily the album’s accompanying soundtrack. After sharing its first focus track, “Double Fantasy” with Future, he is joined by Playboi Carti and Madonna for its second offering “Popular.” “I’m proud of it. I’m definitely proud of it,” Abel said to Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1. “Me and Carti had this… I mean, we’ve jammed out before. We’ve had a different version of this song prior. So I’ve had these vocals for a while and I’ve kind of just worked around it, and then kind of kept it in the tuck. But now it felt like it was time. It was time. And it felt right and it felt cohesive with this album [The Idol soundtrack] that I’m working on right now. So I’ve been producing the song for a while. And then Madonna, Madge. She’s the ultimate co-sign for this song, for this album, and for this TV show. And you’ll hear more of her in the show as well too. She is the ultimate pop star.”

[embedded content]